There Are Always Others
by sodafly
Summary: 'I am sorry for your loss...but it is best to quickly move on. There are plenty of other partners available'. Post- 'Crossfire', plot spoilers.


"Pass me scalpel 2B." His hand was outstretched, palm facing upwards with fingers curled slightly in beckoning for the desired tool. The familiar weight didn't arrive instantly. Knock Out furrowed his brow slightly, wiggling his fingers a little in want of attention. Now was not the time to be ignored, not when he was attending repairs to his leader. The funny thing was that it wasn't like Breakdown to ever ignore his command when in the swing of surgery; the demand would be obeyed instantly, sometimes without word of warning as they moved on the same wave length.

"Breakdown, I need scalpel 2B" Knock Out demanded impatiently, turning his head to see what was taking his partner so long. The rest of the med bay was empty. It took no longer than a split second to remember what had happened and Knock Out allowed his arm to drop and his frown to smooth out as he leaned to snatch the tool he needed from the table opposite the berth. Lips pressed into a firm line, Knock Out dropped his optics and buried himself in the repairs.

He felt like a fool. Making such an error right in front of his still online leader, it was stupid and it highlighted his weakness like a neon sign. The best thing to do was pretend like it had never happened, to bury his claws in the mess of cords and wires as he inspected the damage to Megatron's shoulder, facial plates devoid of emotion and covered with the concentration he needed at that moment in time.

"Knock Out." Megatron's voice wasn't scornful, but it was hardly gentle either.

"The damage isn't major my Lord, just a bit of leakage and a few tears to minor ligaments. The repairs won't take long although the welding may take a little longer than expected, are you still sure you don't want to be placed in status?" Knock Out said quickly in an attempt the dodge the impending conversation.

"Knock Out." Of course there was no dodging Megatron and Knock Out shut his mouth, scraping away dirt from the edging of the wound. "Breakdown's passing is unfortunate but there is still work which must be done"

"I know Lord Megatron."

"Requests can be sent for temporary assistance to help you in your duties."

The offer made Knock Out thankful that he was still in Megatron's favour, but the idea of someone other than Breakdown milling about his med bay, aiding him in battle and research alike made his tanks churn... just like the idea of having a partner before Breakdown came along used to do the same . He resisted the urge to flinch, tightening the clamp which held a fuel shut in Megatron's arm.

"The offer is much appreciated, but I have managed without an assistant once, I can manage without one now."

It was a lie and they both knew it. As demonstrated by the previous blunder Knock Out had come to rely upon an extra set of servos whereas before he made do with just his own. The adaption would be difficult, maybe more so now he was grounded unable to roam the galaxies in search of Decepticon fractions in need of medical help. Megatron was surrounding himself with mechs he trusted and there was no way he was about to let the only trusted, professional medic go wandering the stars again.

"Very well, I will not extend the offer again." They did not speak directly again throughout the red of the repairs, Knock Out continued to quietly mutter to himself, prepping information to later log in the medical reports. He was comfortable with the silence; Breakdown would barely say a word to him when repairs were being made, only to point out vitals and to feedback data when instructed.

"Dreadwing will need medical assistance as he failed to report to you after...the scout mission. I refuse to allow my first lieutenant to be walking about without proper clearance." Megatron said as Knock Out stepped away from the medical berth at the end of repairs. His optical ridge quirked upwards as he dumped the used tool in a container ready for decontamination; so Dreadwing had been promoted at the result of the commotion, how very fitting.

Knock Out had been unsure about his feelings towards Dreadwing after their first meeting. Like all new recruits boarding Nemesis, Dreadwing needed to be vetted to make sure no nasty viruses plagued the ship and to prepare him for future battle. There had only been a few minor scratching to the outer armour at the result of a scuffle with the Autobots but his vitals had otherwise been perfect.

The new 'con had towered over Knock Out, huge lumbering frame with at least half a processor more than his passed twin Skyquake, but equally as blinded by loyalty to Megatron. He had been somewhat immune to the medic's charm and even dared to regard Knock Out with a look of superiority as he accessed his wheels with little satisfaction.

"Well, he's certainly got a prod shoved up his tailpipe and I wasn't the one to put it there." Knock Out remarked after Dreadwing existed, passing the data pad to Breakdown as he passed. Breakdown smirked and hummed, his irritation toward being disregarded due to their alternative mode equal to that of his partner.

"Let's just say I won't be making an effort to share energon with him any time soon" Knock Out continued, wiping his hands with disinfectant and coming to lean at his partner's side. "Besides the last thing we need is another mech eager to lick our leaders boot heel, it is rather dull."

"You don't complain about Soundwave." Breakdown added as his partner rolled his optics.

" That's because Soundwave isn't blinded by trivial matters and is not fighting to gain power...also he makes a valued effort to maintain his framework, makes it a lot less cringe worthy when doing monthly check ups." Knock Out screwed his face up at the memory of patchy paint jobs, badly welded scratches and scuffs in need of buffing which typical Decepticon warriors views as some kind of 'bandage of honour' in their line of work. The only reason Breakdown maintained a suitable appearance was because a cease to Knock Out's constant nagging was worth the effort.

"This is all because he didn't bend over backwards for your attention isn't it."

"Oh please, I could see the irritation in your face when he openly screwed his face up at our wheels."

"Yeah but-"

"Then stop denying it and go clean up, I have a new medical file to review."

This time when Dreadwing graced the med bay with his presence, Knock Out had cleaned the theatre and logged Megatron's data single handily. He refused to think about Breakdown but seeing Dreadwing's lumbering frame come strutting through the sliding doors was enough to set off the blocked train of thought.

A single fact remained.

Dreadwing had been there when Breakdown was terminated.

The thought made Knock Out sour inside and he glared at the other mech briefly before quickly pulling on a mask of fake hospitality.

"Dreadwing, back so soon are we? Then again we would hate to let any possible infection from Airachnid's web linger in your system. Take a seat." Knock Out swept a hand towards the medical berth before turning to grab the tools he would most likely need for this inspection.

Dreadwing said nothing to him, merely lowered himself onto the berth and waited silently as Knock Out gathered his equipment. The urge to make so kind of double edged remark about the situation was overpowering but Knock Out knew he needed to control his tongue around the newly promoted flyer, but that did not stop him from applying a little more force than needed when performing bodily inspection on Dreadwing's form.

Like anyone, Knock Out needed someone to blame for this and although the rage towards Airachnid burned in his system, she was out of bounds ...whereas Dreadwing was right in front of him ready for the picking. Besides the last time Breakdown had been inside the med bay was when Dreadwing had come to collect him for that mission and the memory hurt.

"It's unstable still, although I'm impressed by the amount of work the Autobot doctor was able to perform on it." Knock Out remarked, looking down at the sample of synthetic energon which glowed in the container on the countertop. It was foolish of the Autobots to think that all data on such a valuable source had been purged. Knock Out prided himself on his organized and detailed research and he had documented every minute detail the original sample had offered him before its destruction. On top of that, he still had a couple of droplets left of the original sample but they were difficult to work with.

"If only we could have extracted a little more data from that friend of yours before it was lost." The remark was coupled with a nudge to Breakdown's side as Knock Out pushed his partner out of his way. Science wasn't Breakdown's forte, nor was it Knock Out's considering he had only really dealt with medical and biological science as part of his medical training so this biochemical science was a learning curve.

"Data isn't all I wanted to 'extract' from him" Breakdown sneered as he stepped out of the way, distancing himself from the work station but still close enough to come to aid if needed. He was bored but knew better than to leave Knock Out's side unless instructed.

"Bring up the log from the last round of testing, entry 045 if I remember correctly" Breakdown did as asked, scrolling through the datapad and transferring the entry on the main screen. Knock Out leaned back, hand cupped under his chin as he analyzed the results.

The sliding of the main doors to the medical bay drew both mechs' attention away from the task at hand. They turned to see Dreadwing walk further into the ward with a purposeful stride.

"Unless it's an emergency, I'm afraid medical expertise is otherwise unavailable at the moment." Knock Out said, waving a dismissive hand over his shoulder and turning back towards the screen.

"I'm not here for you, I'm here for Breakdown, Megatron has requested I go on a scout mission and I am in need of ...backup." Knock Out sighed, minimizing the window and turned to fully face the much larger flyer.

"Well then, if Lord Megatron requests then we are willing to accompany."

"I asked for Breakdown, not you." Dreadwing said impatiently, shooting Knock Out a nasty glare which stopped the medic dead in his tracks. Breakdown shrugged and went to move but was stopped by Knock Out's arm lashing out in front of him to stop his movement. Sure they did plenty of things outside of their partnership, but they were normally at request of Lord Megatron himself and those incidents were few and for meaningless tasks such as patrol. Nevertheless Breakdown took a step back, allowing Knock Out to take centre stage as he squared up to the much larger Decepticon who was still on equal ranking with him.

"Wait, Breakdown is my assigned partner so I would love to know the reason why_ I_ am not allowed to accompany him and you are." The statement was snide and openly showed Knock Out's lack of trust and dislike towards Dreadwing. Breakdown looked between the two of them. Knock Out was technically his superior officer and as far as Dreadwing was concerned...well Breakdown was unsure how they stood with each other and was wary of following his command.

"Because I was put in charge of this mission and I am allowed to chose any soldier I wish and I do not want you to accompany me. You are better suited to this ward, not the field, and your so called partner is better suited from this mission." A finger jabbed Knock Out's chest and the red medic became riled at the intrusion. It was one thing to undermine his ability and it was another to take his partner from him without consent, but it was unheard of that any mech in Decepticon ranks dared lay a finger upon him without permission.

Knock Out opened his mouth to speak but this time it was Breakdown who stopped him, batting away his arm and walking towards Dreadwing. Knock Out glared at him, a dull feeling of betrayal simmering in his systems. The medic knew he was overreacting, but once he started there was no stopping him.

"Calm down Red, after a bit of pounding I'll be right back, I'm no use to you at the moment anyway." Breakdown said pausing in the doorway as he followed after Dreadwing. Knock Out pouted slightly, huffing and turning his back in his partner out of pure stubbornness.

Breakdown never came back after that.

Now as he looked at Dreadwing Knock Out wished he had said something before his partner went. But what could he have said? He wasn't a fortune teller and saying something like 'have a nice time' or 'be safe' would be completely out of character. As far as Knock Out was concerned at the time, Breakdown would only be out for a couple of cycles and he would return either refreshed or complaining but either way alive.

It had been Soundwave who delivered the news of Breakdown's departure, showing him the footage dug out of Dreadwing's memory files of Breakdown's final moments. He didn't see the death itself, but the scream was telling and enough to make the medic flinch. The denial was strong, it was just some kind of cruel joke the lot of them had set up and soon Breakdown would popped through the doors and laugh it off. But as Soundwave stood there, silent as always, Knock Out knew that his denial was foolish.

He was grateful that it was Soundwave who had delivered the news, if it had been Dreadwing Knock Out feared he would have lashed out which would result in trouble. Besides, there was something about Soundwave's silence which was understanding and comforting to the medic who pulled on a brave face, thanked his superior officer for telling him and quietly trudged off further into the darkness of the medical bay. He stood still and waited until the hiss of the sliding doors had vanished until leaning unsteadily against the nearest countertop.

They had been unable to recover the remains and that alone made Knock Out want to purge his tanks.

"I'm sorry for your loss." The statement snapped Knock Out from his memory. He paused, the tweezers and scalpel freezing in his hands. Looking up, he saw Dreadwing looking directly at him and Knock Out hated the look of sympathy on his face. Saying nothing, Knock Out returned to gingerly picking the white sticky material out of Dreadwing's inter mechanisms and each time he dumps a clump of the matter in the dish at his side, one of Airachnid's baiting comments would ring in his head.

'_Patch things up' _

Breakdown had a sensitive pride and Airachnid knew how to press his buttons. Knock Out frowned. If he had been there, one word, one movement of the hand and Breakdown would cease in his attack just as Dreadwing had demanded him to. Knock Out would have swung back at Airachnid with a snide comment of his own and ordering Breakdown not to waste his time.

Breakdown had always been hot-headed and did not obey Dreadwing's command since he did not see the other as an authoritative figure worth obeying. As a result, he had lost a partner, and it hurt more than expected.

"I am sorry." Dreadwing repeated when he met no reply "But it is likely the outcome would have been the same no matter what the circumstances, he was too riled for his own good."

Knock Out gritted his dentals, tugging harshly on a set of wires and making Dreadwing wince.

"Not if I had been there, it wouldn't have happened if I had been there." Knock Out muttered to himself, unsure about whether or not he believed the statement coming out of his own mouth.

"Nevertheless, I'm sure you will keep any ideas of revenge under control until the battlefield." It was bait, if Knock Out made it look like he was going to go on a rampage after Airachnid then he would be placed under quarantine in order to stop anymore from going AWOL.

"Of course, revenge is always better left until organized battles." Knock Out said smoothly. Honestly, Knock Out had thought about revenge and would probably think about it a lot more as time went on. He refused to dwell on memories of Airachnid being close enough for him to wrap his claws around her slender throat and stop this all from happening before it even started. Knock Out had never liked her much as it was but allowing thoughts like that to stew would be bad for his mental health.

That didn't stop him from mulling over the idea of taking his saw to her form. But Airachnid was long gone and difficult to track, so any attempt of a solo mission would be either in vain or in search of suicide.

Taking his rage out on Dreadwing would be foolish as well, seeing as he had recently been promoted and attacking a superior officer would result in punishment with or without Megatron's favour. But still Knock Out couldn't help but place blame upon Dreadwing.

"I know what it is like to lose someone, but it is best to quickly move on. There are plenty of other partners available" Dreadwing said after Knock Out had finished pulling the gung out of his wires. Knock Out dumped the tools away, forcing a tiny smirk onto his face as the other left.

Dreadwing was right; there were plenty of partners available.

But none of them would ever be like Breakdown, and Knockout didn't want anyone else but him.


End file.
